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July 8, 2011
Maine
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We arrived in Maine yesterday around 5 pm. From Salem, it was only about a 1 hour drive north to Wells, Maine where we stopped for the day. We checked into our hotel, the Hampton Inn Wells (highly recommend) and immediately set out to see the sites. The first on Grayson's list of sites was an ice cream shop and Sundaes at the Beach didn't disappoint! After enjoying some yummy homemade ice cream, we headed down to the town of Ogunquit, Maine which is a popular beach resort town. Mark and Darby dropped Jonna and Grayson off downtown to walk the "Marginal Way" trail along the rocky Maine coast, while they set off to find somewhere to sit since Darby was unable to hike this 1.25 mile trail due to her ankle. :( It was a stunning view along the coastline and it is understandable why many people flock to Maine to enjoy the coastline! After browsing in some cute shops in this adorable town, Mark and Darby collected Jonna and Grayson and headed back to the hotel after an extremely busy day! After a soak in the hot tub, all turned in for the night!
This morning, Friday, was a super busy day. It started off with a great breakfast at the hotel. We travel a lot and the breakfasts are never anything to brag about, but the breakfast at the Hampton Inn Wells Beach was great. Jonna was talking with the hostess and she was serving these delicious looking doughnuts which she explained that she had brought in each morning warm from the famous Congdon's Family Bakery right up the street. Even though we typically would avoid that type of breakfast food, we indulged ... the Boston Cream was too heavenly!
After breakfast, Mark had a little work to do so Jonna hiked down to Wells Beach to check out the sites and walk off her half doughnut (the kids confiscated the other half before she had time to finish it). It was about 1.5 miles down a lone road to the rocky beach. The beaches in Maine are very different than further south and it was rocky with packed sand, indicating that high tide covers it regularly. There were some ~10 year old boys body surfing and the water was icy cold!
Once we were loaded up, we headed north up Route 1 toward Kennebunkport, ME. What a beautiful seaside town. While driving along Ocean Road in Kennebunkport, we saw some people pulled over taking pictures. We realized we had arrived at the home of former President G.H. Bush (Sr.). Of course, we got out of the car to have a look and we met a local man out taking a walk that stopped to talk with us. He told us when the Maine and Texas flags along with the American flag are raised, Bush is in residence. When only the American flag is raised, they are not there. Today, all three flags were flying. We considered knocking at the gate to see if they were prepared to have us in for brunch, but thought better of the idea when we saw the array of secret service agents! It certainly is a beautiful home! Continuing on our odyssey, we meandered up the coastline through towns such as Cape Porpoise, Biddleford Pool, Old Orchard Beach, and then over to Cape Elizabeth. We LOVED Cape Elizabeth and paused at an area called Two Lights for a while to climb the rocks and grab a bite to eat at the Lobster Shack. The food and view were both magnificent! Jonna had the Haddock boat, Mark went for the lobster, and both kids stuck to the familiar chicken! They tried Mark's lobster though. All of the towns were so picturesque and we saw all kinds of gorgeous homes and scenery, and even a group of artists out with their canvases capturing the beauty of a summer in Maine.
From Cape Elizabeth we headed through Portland and up to Brunswick to tour Bowdoin College. We didn't take an official tour, but drove through the beautiful campus and visited the athletic center. The kids were especially interested in seeing the natatorium and comparing their best swim times with the postings of all the pool and school swim records. We aren't sure where they might be interested in attending college, but while we are here, we figured we would let them get a feel for various college campuses.
In Brunswick, we had a decision ... do we travel to Bangor on I-95 North (the boring way) for 2 hours OR do we take the scenic route for 3 hours. Mark, being a good sport, agreed to the scenic route and it was SO worth it! We headed east on Route 1 through the adorable coastal towns of Rockland, Rockport, and arrived in Camden where we hopped out to explore. Camden must be one of the cutest town in America! We loved all the shops, the water and boats, the flowers, and the people. It was truly all Americana. We did a little shopping and stopped to enjoy an ice cream at the most colorful ice cream shop we had ever seen. It was so much fun! As it was beginning to get late, we headed on toward Bangor and our lodging for the next couple of nights and arrived exhausted after a fun-filled day!
July 9, 2011
Maine
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Today was such a great day! We headed into the Bar Harbor area and Acadia from our hotel in Bangor. We arrived at the Hull Visitor Center in Acadia National Park and watched the 15 minute introductory film about the park before heading onto Loop Road to explore the park. It was raining a little bit and very overcast, but we hoped it would clear up by the afternoon. We stopped several times to take pictures and admire the views. We stopped at Sand Beach - the only sandy part of the coastline in Acadia, and an area called Thunder Hole where the ocean roars into the area and splashed up over the visitor's viewing area. From there, we headed over to the Wildwood Stables for a carriage ride around Day Mountain. Because Darby wasn't able to really hike or bike, we thought this would be a great way to spend more time in the inner part of the park. Her ankle is getting much better on the trip, but we didn't want to push it. The carriage trip was really fun. The carriage was pulled by two horses and the guide told us all about the history of the park and Rockefeller's involvement in building the carriage roads throughout. J.D. Rockefeller loved the Maine coast and was instrumental in preserving the area which later began Acadia National Park. He didn't want cars ruining the area, therefore, he build carriage roads so horses and hikers could access the area. As soon as we arrived at the Wildwood Stables, the weather cleared and it became perfect outside. The carriage ride was gorgeous and a well spent hour. After posing with the horses, we continued the loop through the park to the Jordan Pond restaurant which is famous for its popovers! We decided to have dessert for lunch and enjoyed a popover ala mode! Yummy! The restaurant looks like a postcard it is so beautiful. The lake and mountains behind it are breathtaking! After a filling dessert/lunch, we headed by car up Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak on the Eastern seaboard. It was so clear we could see for miles. We had the best time climbing on the rocks and enjoying the perfect weather!
After a great day in the park, we headed to Bar Harbor to check out the town. We had reservations for kayaking at 6:30 pm and we parked in front of Aquaterra Adventures to explore the town for a couple of hours before we needed to arrive to prepare for it. The town of Bar Harbor is charming. We loved window shopping and even found a really cute Christmas tree ornament with kayakers on it that the shop owner designed.
We checked in at Aquaterra at 6:15 and suited up for the kayak. None of us had done "real" kayaking before with all the equipment so there was a safety lesson involved. We had a great time and kayaked all around Bar Island which is the island directly across from Bar Harbor. We used tandem kayaks so Jonna went with Grayson and Mark and Darby went together. We had a blast and watching the sunset over Frenchman's Bay was fantastic! We were exhausted afterwards and starving, so we had a wonderful dinner at Rupununi in downtown Bar Harbor. It is a cute restaurant with great food - highly recommend!
We were all so exhausted and hated that our hotel was about a 45 minute drive away in Bangor. We just fell into bed when we got back. It was an extremely busy and fun day!
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